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Fred Rogers Signed "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" Theme Song Sketches (3)
Displayed is an offering that both charms and intrigues: three signed sketches by Fred Rogers, the award-winning producer and host of the iconic television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Each of the well-drawn sketches depicts a hand-drawn and hand-signed first musical bar of the theme song ("Won't You Be My Neighbor") of the show. This prize-winning PBS children's show consisted of 895 episodes, all of them hosted by Fred Rogers. The show ran from 1968-2001. Fred Rogers not only created, produced and hosted the show, but, as an accomplished musician, he also wrote the theme song, and more than 200 other songs that were used on the program. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, designed for a preschool audience, was a ground-breaking program in that it confronted serious issues, such as death, divorce, and bullying. As a child growing up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Rogers was overweight and lonely, and he was bullied and called "Fat Freddy." At home, he used a ventriloquist's dummy and stuffed animals to create an imaginative safe world as a way to escape his torment, a world he in many ways recreated on his television show. In 1969, Rogers testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Communications, and his riveting testimony on the importance of children's television programming was credited with helping to restore a 10 million dollar proposed congressional cut in funding for children's television. In the presented offering, Rogers meticulously inscribed, on his handwritten musical staff, the first eight notes of the show's theme song, and then Rogers neatly signed his name and inscribed, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." The musical staff, notes, inscription, and signature are all written by Fred Rogers in bold, black felt marker. In 2019, the Sony Pictures' film, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers, was released, adding even more renown to the legendary Fred Rogers. Rogers was also a Presbyterian minister who was a strong, sincere advocate for children. The offing consists of three signed and notated Fred Rogers' sketches: 1) A 7.25x9.25" sketch, signed and inscribed by Rogers with a black ink from a ballpoint pen, and the sketch has been matted and framed to 13.1x16". The item was signed as "Mister Rogers" and inscribed "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and "1999." 2) A 7.75x9.75" Rogers signed (as Fred Rogers) and inscribed sketch, using a black marker, that has been matted and framed to 14.25x16.1". Rogers has inscribed "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"" and "1998." 3) A 7.4x9.5" signed and inscribed sketch that is matted and framed to 13.6x16.6". Rogers used a black marker to sign as "Mister Rogers" and inscribe "2000." Each of the three included sketches has a Fred Rogers inscribed "Xapis," the Greek word for "grace," at the top. Each of the signed and inscribed sketches is in excellent condition. Rogers passed away in 2003, but Mister Rogers' Neighborhood remains in syndication to this day. Rogers is a member of the Television Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 and won a Life Achievement Emmy Award in 1997. Rogers' sincerity towards children was demonstrated in numerous ways throughout his lifetime: One example is that from his earliest days as a television celebrity, Fred Rogers always answered every letter that he received from a child with a handwritten reply. It seems apparent that Fred Rogers never wanted children in his preschool audience to be as lonely as he was as a bullied child, and so Rogers' show always emphasized inclusion and kindness for all. The displayed offering provides three inspiring remembrances of an exceptionally talented, and a remarkably kind man, a true hero for children.
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